Georgiana raised her head and stared at Jasper in disbelief. Whatever force had repelled Darcy from Jasper's body did not seem to have affected her.
Mrs. Sanford, her face ashen, reached out gingerly to pinch the sheet between her fingertips, careful not to touch Jasper. She folded it back - and Jasper's chest was revealed.
The wound had vanished, his skin as smooth as if nothing had happened.
The midwife raised stricken eyes to Darcy. “What happened?”
His mouth was dry, but somehow he said, “It must have been Frederica. She and Georgiana were the only ones touching him, and Georgiana has no Talent.”
Frederica shook her head. “Not me. I did nothing, and I can barely heal the smallest cut.” Her voice wavered.
Then, one after another, the lesser fae fell to their knees. Not just their knees - several put their foreheads to the floor, and more than one of them were trembling.
Darcy swallowed hard. Was this some strange fae magic, then? But Georgiana's body was mortal, or so the dragons had said.
Jasper's eyes fluttered open with a look of surprise. He raised his hand to his shoulder, where a scarlet blister had risen. No, not a blister, but a mark shaped like a teardrop. Right where Georgiana's head had lain.
Georgiana's eyes were wide, and she seemed to notice her lesser fae for the first time. “Mistletoe, what are you doing?”
The closest fae raised her head, but did not move from the ground. “Great lady...” she said in a trembling, creaky voice. She appeared to be gathering her courage. “It seems there is power in your tears.”
And something about that terrified the little fae.
Darcy tended to agree with that terror. That power knocking him backwards had come from Georgiana'stears? His little sister, the changeling whom he had protected for years, who now looked lost and alone?
He tried to catch Elizabeth's eye, in case she might miraculously have some explanation, but she had that odd unfocused look that said she was speaking to Cerridwen.
It was Frederica, of course, who broke the terrible silent tension in the room. She rushed forward and half-threw herself on her brother, pounding his shoulder - the one without the mark - with her fist. “If you ever scare me like that again, I will kill you myself! Do you hear me?”
“Stop that, Freddie!” he exclaimed, his face flushed. “Why are all of you staring at me? And where the devil is my shirt?”
Chapter 6
Itwasnearlynoonthe next day by the time Darcy made his way back to Elizabeth’s room. How he had hated being separated from her even for a few hours! Jasper’s close brush with death had been a reminder how very fragile life was. And so the first thing he did was to take his beloved wife into his arms. If only he never had to let her go!
She seemed to share his sentiments, melting into his embrace. Until suddenly she stiffened.
“What is the matter?” Darcy asked, worried.
Elizabeth rubbed her left arm as if it hurt her. “Nothing, literally. Before Cerridwen managed to toss the High Fae over the wards, he stabbed her under her wing. Now and then her pain slips through to me.”
He frowned. “Then every time she is injured, you will feel it?” Not an idea he liked.
“No. Roderick says it is just because Cerridwen is so young and untrained. The other dragons are helping her learn to keep her pain to herself. But I do not mind. If sharing it gives her some relief, I am glad to do it.” She shivered. “She took that injury in protecting Pemberley. All three of the dragons have received a scolding for risking themselves for us, since the High Fae was no threat to them or the Nest.”
It took a moment to digest that. Were not the three companion dragons part of his household? But he could see the Nest's point of view, too, thattheir primary loyalty should be to their fellows. “I just spoke to Jasper. He remembers the fight, but not being wounded. Nothing at all until he woke up with what feels like a nasty burn on his neck. He did not even believe Frederica about how badly he was hurt until he heard it from Mrs. Sanford, too.”
“That was terrifying,” Elizabeth said with a shudder. “I wish I had no memory of it.”
“And I wish I had an explanation for it. Georgiana says she has no idea what had happened, or why her lesser fae were so disturbed by it. Nor does she know what the High Fae wanted here.” Though somehow he suspected she knew more than she was telling him.
Just then Georgiana herself appeared in the doorway, an unusual air of determination in her set jaw. “May I speak to you for a few minutes?”
“Of course. Will you join us?” Darcy gestured to the armchair opposite the loveseat.
“No, I thank you. This will only take a minute.” She stopped just inside the room, her posture stiff. “In the future, pray do not try to defend me from the fae. I appreciate the presence of the wards, but I do not want anyone risking themselves for me. Jasper almost died, and I understand Cerridwen was wounded. I do not want that. The High Fae may only have wished to speak to me. At worst, he might have attempted to carry me off, but I am not without my own defenses, and we have no reason to think the High King wishes to harm me. Keep the wards up, yes. Allow me to surround myself with iron if they go down, yes. But do not fight!” Her voice shook at the end of this clearly prepared speech.
It was so far from what he expected that for a moment he could not speak. Of course it was his duty to defend her!
